Carpet holding and sewing apparatus



no N E L .lu A B. R

GARBET HOLDING AND SEWING APPARATUS. No. 524,997.

Patented Aug. 28, 1894.

dfiez/e1 ms PETER: eo.. rnomuwo., wnsumofon n c 6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented'Aug. 28,' 1894.

E. B, ALLEN. CARPET HOLDING AND SEWING APPARATUS.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 3.

e f E.B.ALLEN. CARPET HOLDING AND SEWING APPARATUS.

No. 524,997. Patented Aug. 28, 1894.

6 Sheets-Sheet `4.

(N Model.)

E. B. ALLEN. GARPET HOLDING AND SEWING APPARATUS. No. 524,997.

"l'lll llllllli J5@ VCA/Earn Patented Aug. 28, 18.94.

(No Model.) 6 sheets-s119955.

E. B.ALLEN.

CARPET HOLDING?` AND SEWING APPARATUS.

No. 524,997. Patented Aug'. '28, 1894.4

(No Moae1.) '6 sheets-sheets.

- E. B. ALLEN.

CARPET HOLDING ANDSEWING APPARATUS.

. No.1524,997. Patented Aug. 28, 1894.

UNITED STATES- l PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD'B. ALLEN, OF ELIZABETH, NEW ERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGERMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OE NEW JERSEY.

CARPET .HOLDING AND l'SEWING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICAT-ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 524,997, dated August28, 1894. Application filed January 2, 1894:.l Serial No. 495.391. (Nomodel.)

` citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county ofUnion and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Carpet Holdingand Sewing Apparatus, of which thefollowing isa specil fication, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object to provide a convenient apparatus forstretching, holding v and sewing long sections of carpets or other heavyfabrics which are to be held in such manner that their edges may bereadily evened for the sewing operation and so that patterns or figuresof the carpetsmay be con# Veniently matched by the operator as the sew-vingprogresses, or so that the fabrics may be' stretched,- matched andheld preparatory to the sewing operation. i

To this end my improved apparatuscomprises a suitable support whichsustains stretching and holding devices or clamps for the fabrics andalso a suitable track or guideway on which a traveling sewing machine,by which the fabric edges are to be united, is to move. rlhe fabricholding devices are preferably'so disposed that the carpets or otherfabrics to be united will be supported'edgewise vertically so that thedifferent sections thereof may be more easily moved relative to eachother, (to even their edges or match the patterns or figures) than wouldbe possible were the fabric sections superposed or laid tlatwisehorizontally on each other, as in the" latter position the weight of thefabrics and the frictional or clinging nature of the contiguous faces ofheavypile fabrics renders the adjustment of one fabric section on anricsis preferably effected bya positive feeding mechanism havinga positiveengagement with a rail or bar placed parallel tothe track or guide-wayon which the sewing machine travels. The clamps by whiehthe fabrics tobe united are held are preferably of such construction that as the jawsthereof are closed together on the fabrics they will stretch the saidfabrics which are grasped between them, to place the fabrics undersuitable tension so as to hold their edges taut ,and smooth, said clampsbeing thus stretching as well as holding clamps; and, movable lwith thesaid clamps, as the latter are closed and opened, are start 'andstop-motion devices, or what may be termed governing devices of such acharacter that should the traveling sewing machine arrive at the end ofa fabric section which has been matched, stretched and clamped, inreadiness for the sewing operation, before the next'fabric section hasbeen with the closing and opening clamps co-operating with the start andstop-motion devices of the machine to effect these operations.

The adjustment of the fabric edges in preparing for the sewing operatiohis facilitated by stationary guides which determine their height as theyare placed in the clamps, and imp'aling pins carried by pivoted armsmovable independently of the clamping arms are provided to assistin theoperation of handling the heavy fabrics. The stretching and holdingclamps are normally movable independently of each other in opening andclosing, but connecting latches, whereby all the clamps of a series maybe opened by operating one clamp or clamp section, are provided;thusenabling the finished work to be quickly released. The traveling machinevis preferably returned toits starting position by an endless returnbelt running in a direction opposite to the driving belt, and the latteris preferably so arranged that both the forwardly moving and returnsection-s thereof will run in the same horizontal plane and thus bothparts of IOO said belt may be utilized to drive sewing ma'- chines inopposite directions at the Sametime, the tracks or gui'deways for themachine and the clamping and holding devices for the fabrics, being, tothis end, provided in duplicate.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is av partial side elevation of acarpet sewing apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe saine.' Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sections on lines 3--3 and 4 4,respectively, of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a partial plan view, on an enlargedscale, of the apparatus shown near the lower right hand corner of Fig.2. Figs. 6 and '7'are detail views of the clamping devices. Fig. 8 is adetail view of the releasing or tripping device for the locking dog ofthe return belt grip. Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are detail views to showthe operation of the releasing latches for the clamps. Fig. 13 is across section, on an enlarged scale, on line 1`3-13, Fig. 2. Fig. 14 isa full plan View of the traveling sewing machine. Figs. 15, 16 and 17are detail views of the clutch and starting'and stopping mechanisms ofthe said machine, and Fig. 18 is a detail view of the return-beltgripping-device.

In the form in which I have herein illustrated my invention I providestandards A at the upper parts of which are brackets a. having upper andlower horizontally extending arms which support rods b and b whichlatter form the track'orfguideway for the traveling sewing machine B,the latter having lower y grooved wheels b2 engaging the lower rod b andupper grooved wheels b3 engaging the upper rod h', the said wheels b3being preferably pressed upward by suitable springs placed beneath themso as to have yieldingy contact with said rod b. C is a rack-bar theteeth of which are engaged by suitable feedingl devices of the travelingsewing machine to move the same positively forward intermittingly. c

Journaled in the outeriends of the upper arms of the brackets@ are rodsd to which the clamping arms E are attached, said arms carrying at theirlower ends pivoted clamping and stretching levers e provided with jaws eco-operating with similar pivoted, clamping and stretching levers e2supported by blocks ctat the lower ends of the arms of the said bracketsa and furnished with jaws es, the said jaws being forced inward ortoward eachother by springs e4 Fig. 7 acting on said levers. Themovements of the levers e under the iniiuence of their springs e4 arelimited by stop-pins or projections e5'on the arms E engaged by tailpiecescon said levers e, and thev movements of the levers e2 under thestress' of their spri11gs4'are limited by stops or projections 0.2 onthe blocksa co-operatin g with the tail pieces clon the said levers e2.In'closing the clamps the jawseand e3 of the levers e and e2 are firstbrought'into engagement with the Opposite sides of the fabrics which areplaced between said jaws and the A rfurther downward or closingmovements of e2` on their pivots thus causing said jaws c and e3 to moveforward somewhat in the direction ofthe length' of the fabrics therebystretching the latter and drawing them taut. This stretching operationof the clamping jaws will be readily understood by reference to Fig. '7in which the first grasping and the final stretching and holdingpositions of the clamp jaws are denoted by full and dotted lines,respectively. The arm E farthest to the left (Figs. 1` and 2) has aplain or nonstretching clamp-jaw cooperating with a similar plainclamp-jaw on the frame-work of the apparatus, as, this first clampmerelyholds the ends of the fabrics, and is therefore of any ordinary orsuitable construction. The arms E are operated' by hand levers ffulcrumed at f to the upper arms of the brackets a. and connected to theshort arms e8 of the arms or levers E by links f2, the latter and theinner end portions of the leversf forming toggles which areIstraightened out just before the outer ends of the handlevers faredepressedv to their lowest positions to close the clamping andstretching jaws together; the center point of a toggle just passing acentral longitudinal line drawnl through the toggle when said jaws areas fully closed as is desired and when the further descent of the handlever is arrested by a suitable stop; and as the toggle center isv thusjust past said central line when the jaws are in clamping position anytendency of the said jaws to open is overcome and the said jaws arelocked, as i will bev understood.

The rods d are provided at their ends, opf posite to where the arms Eare attached, with g collars d from which, ou the sides of the rods l dopposite to the arms E, are extended arms d2 provided with weights orcounterpoises D i sufliciently'heavy to overbalance the arms E and thushold the jaws of the clamps apart and the clamps open when not in use.The weights Dare each provided with a depending lug or projectiondiarranged to be in the path of a tripping arm on the machine, to stopthe latter, should the clamp arm Ewith which said weight and projectionare connected (through rod d) not be closed, andeachcollar d isfurnished witha cam d4 arranged to engage a starting and stopping leveron the machine as theV clamp with which said cam is connected is closed,and thus the traveling machine,` which has been stopped by a lug d3,will again be set into operation when the ma- 1 terial is ready. Thusthe lugs d3 and cams d, co-operating with the st'op-and-start-motiondevices (to be hereinafter described) of the traveling machine, are whatmay be termed governing devices as they control the movement of themachine in such a manner as to cause it to stop when the material aheadis not ready and to start when such material has been clampedlandstretehed in readiness for sewing. The collars d are provided withluOs d5 placed beneath the hand levers and vb q the arms Ewil-l thenturn said levers e and IOO IIO

ing the stops for said levers hereinbefore mentioned.

impaling pins g which, when said arms are in their lowered or closedpositions enter holes h formed in the lower arms of brackets h similarin form to the brackets a and snpported by strengthening cross-heads Hbraced to the standards A by rods h2 and serving to steady the track orguideway rods b and b and the rack bar C all of which are attached Therods d are provided t to said brackets h. with collars d6 having notchesZ7 to be entered by hooks or lugs t' formed at the upper or inner endsof latches or hand levers t pivoted tothe arms g and beneath which areplaced springs i2 to hold the lugs or hooks t in contact with thecollars d6 or to force said lugs or hooks into said notches @t7 whensaid arms g are lifted to cause said lugs or hooks to register with saidnotches. When said lugs or hooks are entered in said notches the arms gwill be held elevated with theirimpaling pins g withdrawn from the work,even when the clamps are closed, and said arms g will be further liftedto be wholly out of the way when the clamps are opened.

Placed closely adjacent to each set of clamping and stretching jaws is astationary gage j to be engaged by the upper edges of the fabrics andthus determine the height to which the fabrics should be lifted beforethe clamps are closed on the same. The gages j are so placed as to beoutside of the line of movement of the traveling machine B, the fabrics,after being positioned as to height by the said gages, being movedinward to sewing po.- vsition by clampsas thelatter are closed. Thegages j are attached to the rod b', the rods d passing freely throughthe upper parts i thereof.

The traveling sewing machine B is preferably driven by an endless belt Lreceiving movement from any suitable source of power, as from a drivingpulley K which may be operated by an electric motor or otherwise, saidbelt running over pulleys 7c supported at the opposite ends of the trackor guideway on which the machine runs. The driving belt L is preferablyso arranged that both the forwardly moving and return sections thereofwill run in the same horizontal plane so that both4 parts of said beltmay be utilized to drive sewing machines in opposite directions at theSametime, the tracks or guideways for said machines, and the stretchingand holding Pivoted on the rods d are arms g Acarrying pulley and saidwheelisA placed a shoe m2 acted on by a cam n seated in said wheel andprovided with an arm 'n' having a lug fn? against which presses a coilspring m3 to cause the cam n to force said shoe m2 into holding contactwith the pulley M to give the latter a driving engagement with the wheelfm. The endless driving belt L is held in contact with the pulley M bypulleys beneath which said belt runs.

Pivoted to a post B forming part of the frame of the machine B is astopping and starting lever O having a depending arm ov at the lower endof which is a shoulder o to engage the upper edge of the clutch arm nand turn the cam n slightly, in opposition to the action of the springm3, when the shoe m2 is to be disengaged from the pulley M to per! mitthe latter to run free; said arm 'n' having at its end a hook orprojection n3 to engage said arm o and thus positively stop the wheel'm' and the main shaft of the machine with which said wheel isconnected. The arm 0 is provided, below the shoulder o with a brake o2having a friction surface of raw hide 0r other suitable material, toengage the side or face of the clutch arm 'n' to arrest or slacken themovement of the wheel m', after ithas been disengaged from the pulley Mand before it is positively stopped by contact of the hook n3 with thearm o; thus avoiding any injurious shock by the positive stop. The leverO is tilted, to bring the arm o into contact with the arm n', by aspring o3 seated in the post B and pressing against the said arm o.

The lever O is provided with an arm o4 rigidly attached thereto andhaving at its end a projection o5 to be acted on by any one of the camsd4 movable with the clamps, the action of the cams d4 on the arm o4being to depress the end of the lever O to which said arm is attachedand thus remove the arm o from contact with the arm n and thereby causethe clutch above described to engage the wheel m with the pulley M andset the machine in motion. To prevent accidental starting of the machinewhen the latter is being run idly backward to commence a new seam thelug or projection o5 is pivoted to the arm o4 and is yieldingly held inits operative position by a spring of which will permit it to be turnedto the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 17, should any of theclamps not be opened when the machine is running backward, the cams d4being in position to be engaged by said lug or projection o5 only whenthe clamps, with which cams are connected, are closed.

The stopping and starting lever O isjpro vided with a tail piece 07beneathwhich, to hold the arm 0 of saidV lever out of engagement withthe arm n of the clutch device, extends a lugp formed on a dog Ppivotedon the shank of the screw p', so as to turn horizontally, andacted on by al torsional spring p2 to hold said lug p beneath the saidtail piece 0 7. ,The dog P is provided with a trip- -IIO ping arm 193soplaced as to engage any one of the stoppin glugs d3 on 'the weights Dshould the clamp, with which any one of said weights and' lugs areconnected, not be closed; the engagement of a tripping arm p3 with a lugd3, when the machine is traveling forward, caus ing the dog P to beturned to remove thelug p from beneath the nail piece oT of the lever`O, thus leaving said lever free to be moved into position by itsspringo3 to uncouple the clutch and stop themachine. When the dog P isthus tripped the tail piece o7 of the lever O descends slightly so thatthe lug p, by engagement with a vertical face of said tailpiece, is heldaside in an inoperative position.

As the clamps will be open when the machine is to-be run backward to itsstarting point,

and as the lug-s d3 will thus bein thek path of the tripping arm 103,the latter, although so connected with the locking dog P as-to move thesaid dog positively when tripping it to stop the machine, is yieldinglyconnected with said dog by the spring p5 so as to move idly to thepositiony shown in dotted lines,

Fig. 16, when passing said lugs d3 on thebackward or return movements ofthe traveling machine.

L is an endless returning belt run ning, in

a direction opposite to the-belt L, over pulleys lc at the opposite endsof the track or guideway on which the traveling machine moves.

The said machine is provided with a gripping device to engage the saidreturning belt so as tovbe moved therewith, said gripping device,asherein shown, consisting of agrooved block or lug q between which anda gripping leverQ said returning belt runs. A spring q normally holdsthe gripping part of the said lever lifted out of contact with the saidbelt, and whenl the machine is to be returned the operator depresses thehandle end q2 of the said lever to cause the latter to grip the saidbelt, said lever being held in gripping position by'a toothed lockingdog R pi'voted on aV screw fr and forced by a torsional spring fr' intoengagement with a toothed portion g3 of said lever Q. When the lockingdog Ris released from the said lever Q the spring q releases saidleverfrom the returning belt.

r.Fo-prevent themachine from overrunning its track or guide-way at itsret-urn movement I provide, near the starti-ng point of the machine, akreleasing devicel forV the locking dog R, said releasing deviceconsisting of an arm /rl supported by a hanger r3-and placed in the'pathof movement of said dog to trip the latter on the return movement ofthemachine and thus automatically ungrip the returnbelt, said arm beingyieldingly held by a spring t5 in. such a manner that it will be swungout of the way, when engaged by said dog, on the forward movement of themachine.

In practice my improved fabric stretching 'and holding apparatus and thetrack or guideway for the traveling machine are of considerable lengthand comprise quite a large the clamps holding the fabrics which havebeen sewed may be released by operating a single hand lever f by whichthe clamps are closed andopened, and thus avoid the delay which would beoccasioned were said hand levers all to be separately operated to openthe clamps. To thus open all of the clamps by that one of the handlevers f which is at the end of the seam last completed I mount on thecollars d adjacent to the clamp arms E and hand levers f pivotedreleasing latches s the upper ends' of which are pressed by springs stoward said levers f and the latter are provided with inclines ftpreferably vformed at the bottoms of notches f5 formed in said levers,the said latchess being provided near their tops with shoulders s2. Thuswhen a clamp is to be closed by depressing its operating hand leve:l fand the clamp which is next ahead (or to the right, Fig.'l) is open,

- (aswill always be thecase in practice, as the clamps are successivelyclosed froml one end of the fabric sections to be sewed to the other)the latch s connected with the open clamp will be in such position (seeFigs. 9, 1l and 12) that the incline on the lever f will permit saidlever, as the-latter is lowered in closing its clamp, to pass by theshouldered portion of the latch s, but when the clamp with which saidlatch is connected lis closed the latch will be turned to the positionshown in Fig. lO to bringits shoulder .s2-beneath the lever f contiguousthereto andwhichy is on the next clamping section and thus engage saidlatch with said lever so that when the clam-p with which the latch isconnected is opened the turning movement of the collar d on which thelatch is mounted (and which is connected with the clamp through the rodd) will lift the said latch and cause the latter to raise the lever fwith which said latch isv now engaged far enough to throw out thetoggle, formed by the inner end of said lever and the link f2, and thuspermit the overbalancing weight D connected with the clamp rod d toentirely open the clamp. As all of the clamps of a series will, whenclosed, be connected toi gether through the releasing latches s it willbe obvious that by raising the operating hand lever of the clamp lastclosed, to open said clamp, the latchconnected with the clamp firstreleased or opened will open the next clamp, and so on successivelythrough the entirev series of clamps, running back to the iirststretching clamp near the starting point of the machine.' With regard tothis releasing operation of the clamps it should be borne in mind thatthe lever f, shown in Figs. 9 and 10, is on a dierent clam-p sectionfrom that with which the releasing latch s, shown in said figures, is tobe connected, and that the operating lever f with which said releasinglatch s is connected is represented by the op- IIO erating leverfarthest to the right at the lower side of Fig. 2, while the operatinglever f, shown in said Figs. 9 and 10 is represented by the middle oneof the operating levers shown at the lower side of Fig. 2. In otherwords, it should be borne in mind, for a clear understandingof theoperation of the releasinglatches, that a releasing latch of one clampsection operates to throw up the lever ro f of the next adjoining clampsection, and so on'through the entire series of clamps. As 1t 1sobjectionable (except when a carpet has been entirely sewed by unitingthe last two breadths thereof) to permit the heavy fabrics to fall totheioor when the clamps are all opened, as above indicated,'owng to thelabor which would be required to again lift the heavy fabrics, the armsg are lowered to engage their impaling pins g with the fabrics beforethe clamps are opened, said pins thus holding the fabrics from falling.

The traveling sewing machine B has an in-l termittent feeding movementon its track or guide-way, this feeding movement being ef-` fected bysuitable feeding and holding devices engaging the teeth of the rack-barC. This feeding mechanism is fully set forth in my application, SerialNo. 495,390, filed J anuary 2, 1894, simultaneously herewith, and

therefore need not be further described herein.

In the use of my invention and with the endless driving belt L runningin the direction denoted by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, if the fronttrack or guideway shown at the lower side of Fig. 2 be in use, thetraveling sewing machine will be placed at the left hand end of the saidtrack or guide-way with the projection o5 on the arm o4 of the startingand vt the left.

' cam d4 to act on the said projection o5 on the arm o4 of the startingand stopping lever O,

thus withdrawing the stopping arm o of said lever from the clutch arm nand permitting the clutch to engage the wheel m with the driving pulleyM, and thus start the machine, the said pulley, it being understood,running continuously with the driving belt L. When the traveling machinearrives at the end of the clamped and stretched fabrics if the next setof clamps be not closed the stopping lug d3, connected with the openclamp, will be in the path of the tripping arm p3 of the locking dog P,and the engagement of said arm with said stopping lug d3 will cause thelocking lug p `0f said dog to be withdrawn from beneath the tail-pieceo7 of the lever O, thus permitting the latter to be tilted by its springo3 to uncouple the clutch and stop the machine, the said machine beingagain set into operation bya cam d4, when the next stretching clamp isclosed, as above described. Should all of the clamps of a series beclosed, or, in other words, should lengths of carpet sections to beunited be matched, stretched and clamped, before the machine is started,of course the entire lengths will be sewed without stopping the machine;and the sewing operation of carpet sections extending the full length ofthe holding and stretching apparatus and of the track or guideway willalso be continuous if the clamps be successively closed, as the machineadvances,before the machine reaches the respective governing devicesrepresented by the stopping lugs d3 and starting cams d4 which areplaced opposite to each other, these governing devices, it beingunderstood, being for the purpose of. preventing the machine fromrunning into unclamped and unprepared fabric sections; and also toprovide for starting the machine simultaneously with the operation ofclosing the clamps, without requiring any special care on the part ofthe operator who has only to attend `to adjusting and clamping thefabrics. The edges of the carpets are held above the clamps, and thearms E o f the latter are curved outward, and the traveling machine canthus move freely past said arms and clamps without interferencetherewith, a suitable guide on the traveling machine bringing the edgesof the fabrics in proper position relative to the needle of the machineand holding said edges during the sewing operation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patentl. The combination with a track or guideway and atraveling sewing machine to run thereon and provided with a stop-motiondevice, of clamps disposed along said track or guideway and serving tohold the fabrics to be sewed by said machine, `and stopping devicesmovable with said clamps and so arranged as to be brought into positionto stop the machine when the clamps are open but to be in such positionas not to interfere with the machine when the clamps are closed.

2. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon and provided with start and stop-motion devices,of clamps for holding the fabrics to be sewed by said machine, andstarting and stopping or governing devices movable with said clamps andcooperating-with the start and stop motion devices of the machine:vwhereby the latter will be set into operation when a clamp is closed orwill be stopped by a governing device if the clamp with which the latteris connected beopen.

3. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon and provided with a pulley having a IOO I Way anda traveling sewing machine to run of the machine, to set the latter intoopera thereon, of an endless driving belt for moving the machineforward, means for operatively connecting said belt with the drivingshaft tion, an independent endless returning belt for running themachine back to its starting. position, and a gripping device on thema-` chine for engaging the latter with the saidv returning belt.

5. The combination with a track or guide-- way and a traveling sewingmachine to run.

Agaging sald thereon, of an endless driving belt for moving the-machineforward, means for operatively connecting said belt with the drivingshaft of the machine to set the latter into opera-- tion, an independentendless returning belt for running the machine back to its starting.positiona gripping device on the machine for engaging the latter withthe said returning belt, and a releasing device, placed near thestarting point of the machine, for disen-y gripping device from saidreturning belt.

6. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run. thereon, of a fabric-holding apparatus com prising meansfor holding one end of the fabrics and one or more clampsv each of whichconsists of two opposing spring-pressed jaws.

which, after having been brought intoen gagement. with the. oppositesides of the fabrics,

in closing, are constructed and arrangedy to have a horlzontal orforward movement to stretch the fabrics longitudinally, and means forclosing the clamps against the fabrics.

7. The combination with a track or guide- .way anda traveling. sewingmachiner to run thereon, of4 a series of independent, combinedstretching and holdin gclamps disposed along said trackor guide-Way andeach clamp having opposing spring-pressed jaws to engagel the oppositesides of thefabrics to be united Aby said machine, each of saidindependent4 clamps being adapted to be opened andclosed withoutdisturbing theothers.

8.. Thecombination witha track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine adapted to run thereon, of a series of clamps arranged to holdthe fabrics to be sewed parallel with the said track or guideway, eachof said clamps comprising a spring-pressed clamp arm or lever pivoted toa stationary support Vand provided with a clamping jaw, and aspring-pressed clamp arm or lever pivoted to aY movable support orcarrying arm and also provided with a clamping jaw, the' jaw-portions ofsaid clamp arms being yieldingly pressed toward each other by theirsprings, so that when said jaws are forced against the opposite sides ofthe fabrics, in clamping,-

vers to form toggles which straighten out as the clamp-jaws are closedtogether.

10. The combination witha track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of a fabric-holding apparatus comprising aseries of clamps ,disposed alongsaid `track or guide-way, said clampsbeing independent of eachother, and being thus adapted to besuccessively closed on the fabrics, arms or levers by means of whichsaid clamps may be opened, and releasing devices or llatches `by whichsaid arms or levers may be operated to open the clamps, when desired,said'r'eleasing devices or latches serving, when the last clamp of theseries of clamps isopened, to successively open the preceding clamps .ofthe series. n i

11.V A fabric holding apparatus comprising a series of clamps, combinedwith impaling p pins for assisting in handling the fabrics,.and pivotedarms, movable independently of the clamps,.by which saidpinsare carried.

12.l A fabric holding apparatus comprising a series of clamps, combinedwith impaling pins for assisting in handling the fabrics, pivoted arms,movable independently of the clamps, by which said pins are carried, andmeans for connecting said arms. with said clampsso that,.when desired,the said arms `may be raisedto lift said pins5, when the clamps areopened.A

13.v The combinationwith a track orguid'eway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, said sewing machine being provid-ed with astop-motion device,,of clamps 'compris- -ing. themovable clamp-carryingarms E, the rods d, by which said arms are carried, and

stopping'devicesas lugs-d-,movable with said rods and clamp-carryingarms, said stopping devices being, so constructed and arranged as to bein the path offmovement of some portion of the said stop-motion deviceof the Inachine when the clampsare. open,but to be in such position Yasnot to operate the stop-motion device when the. clamps are closed.

14. The combination with a track or guideway and a travel-ing sewingmachine to run thereon, and provided. with start and stop-motiondevices,of clamps comprising the mov- IOO ITO

able clamp-carrying arms E, the rods d by which said arms are carried,starting devices, as cams d4, and stopping devices, as lugs d3, movablewith said rods and arms, and so arranged relative to the start and stopmotion devices of the machine as to stop the machine if the clamps beopen, and to start themachine when the clamps are closed.

15. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of clamps comprising the clampcarrying arms E,the rods d by which said arms are carried, the lugs d3 and the cams d4movable with said rods and arms, the stopping and starting lever Ohaving an arm a part of whichis arranged tobe engaged by a cam d4 tostart the machine, and the dog P serving to lock the said starting andstopping lever in an inoperative position when the machine is inoperation, said dog having a tripping arm p3 to be engaged by one of thesaid lugs d3 when aclamp is open, andthe machine is to be stopped.

l 16. The combination with the traveling sewing machine having thedriving shaft lm., of the wheel m fixed to said shaft, the drivingpulley M loose relative to said shaft, the shoe mzinterposed betweensaid wheel and pulley,

the clutch cam n seated in said wheel and having a spring-pressed arm bywhich it is caused to act on said shoe to couple the said pulley M withthe said wheel m', when desired, and a starting and stopping lever Ohaving a spring-pressed arm o to disengage the said clutch devices, and,having also the tail-piece 07 and the arm oAx which latter,when pressedupon,will permit the clutch to act to couple the driving pulley M withthe said wheel m', and the spring-pressed locking dog P having a lug parranged to engage said tailpiece o7, to hold the said arm o out ofengagement with the clutch devices.

17. The combination with the traveling sewing machine having the drivingshaft m, of the1 wheel m fixed to said shaft, the driving pulley M looserelative to said shaft, the shoe m2 interposed between said wheel andpulley, the clutch cam n seated in said wheel and having aspring-pressed arm by which it is caused to act upon the said shoe tocouple the said wheel with the said pulley, the starting and stoppinglever O provided with4 the arm o having a shoulder o to engage the edgeof the said spring-pressed arm,and thus release the said shoe frombinding contact with the said pulley, said arm o having also a brakeportion to bear against the face of the spring-v pressed clutch arm toarrest the movement of the said wheel fm', the spring o3 for operatingsaid starting and stopping lever in one direction, the locking dog P tohold the said lever O in an inoperative position when the machine isrunning, and the arm o4 carried by the said lever O and which, whenpressed upon, releases the arm o from the clutch and permits thelatterto act to start the machine.

18. The combination with the traveling sewing machine having the drivingshaft m, of the wheel mf fixed to said shaft, the driving pulley M looserelative to said shaft, the shoe m2 interposed between said wheel andpulley, the clutch cam n seated in said wheel and having aspring-pressed arm by which it is caused to act upon the said shoe tocouple the said wheel with the said pulley, the starting and stoppinglever O provided with the arm 0 having a shoulder 0 to engage the `edgeof the said spring-pressed clutch arm, and thus release the said shoefrom binding contact with the said pulley, said arm ohaving alsoabrakeportion to bear against the face of the springpressed clutch arm toarrest the movement of the said wheel m', the spring o3 for operatingsaid starting and stopping lever in one direction, the locking dog Ptohold the said lever O in an inoperative position when the machine isrunning, and the arm o4 carried by the said lever O and which, whenpressed upon, releases the arm o from the clutch and permits the latterto start the machine, said arm o4 being provided with a spring-pressedpivoted lug or projection o5 which is adapted to yield in one directionso that-the machine will not be set into operation when being returnedto its starting position.

` 19. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon and provided with a starting and stopping lever,of a locking dog by which the said starting and stopping lever is heldin an inoperative posit-ion when the machine is running, but which isprovided with a tripping arm to release the said lever when the machineis to be stopped, said tripping arm having positive connection with saiddog in one IOO direction but being yieldingly connected with Y the saiddog so that `it may be moved freely in an opposite direction, when themachine is running backward to be returned to its starting position,without operating said dog.

20. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of an endless driving belt for moving themachine forward, means for operatively connecting said belt with thedriving pulley of the machine, to set the latterin operation, anindependent endless returning belt for running the machine backward toits starting position, and a gripping device for the said returning beltconsisting of the block q on the machine and the lever Q having agripping portion to engage the said returning belt and force it againstthe said block q, and a spring-pressed locking dog R for holding thesaid lever Q in gripping position.

21. vThe combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of an endless driving belt for moving themachine forward, means for operatively connecting said belt with thedriving pulley of the machine, toset the latter in operation, anindependent endless returning belt for running the machine backward toits starting position, and a gripping device for the vbeing placed nearthe f pivoted` lever, as e,

said returning belt, said gripping device conslstlng of the block g yonthe machine and' the lever Q having a gripping portion to engageV thesaid returning belt and force it against the said block q, a springpressed locking dog R for holding the said lever Q in grlpping position,and a releasing device for the said locking dog, Said releasing devicestarting point of the machine.

22. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of an endless driving belt for moving themachine forward, means for operatively connecting said belt with thedriving pulley of the mach-ine, to set the latter in operation, anendless driving belt for running the machine backward to its startingposition, and a gripping device for the said returning belt, saidgripping device consisting of the block q on the machine and the lever Qhaving a gripping portion to engage the said returning belt and force itagainst the said block q, a spring-pressed. locking dog Rfor holding thesaid lever Q in gripping position, and a releasing device for the saidlocking dog, said releasing device being placed near the starting pointof the machine, and consisting of a spring-pressed arm frA and thehanger r3 by which said arm is carried.

23. An apparatus for holding fabrics to be sewed by a traveling sewingmachine and comprising a series of clamps each composed of aspring-pressed pivot lever, as e2, supported by a stationary part of theapparatus, and a swinging arm E carrying a spring-pressed said leversbeing provided at their outer or free ends with gripping jaws.

24. The combination with a track or guideway and a traveling sewingmachine to run thereon, of a fabric holding apparatus comprisingthepivoted rods d provided with arms E carrying spring pressed clamp leverse, spring-pressed clamp-levers e2, supported by stationary parts of theapparatus, to co-operate with the said levers eand hold the fabrics, thearms es movable with the said arms E and rods d, the operating leversfand the links f2 connecting the said levers with the said arms e8.

25. In a fabric clamping and holding appa- 'ratus the combi-nation withthe rods d and the clamp-carryin g arms L movable therewith, of the armsd2 rigidly attached to said rods and provided with counterbalancingWeights D serving to throw out the said clamp-carrying arms E when thelatter are released.

26. In a fabric clamping and holding apparatus the combination with therods dand the clamp-carrying arms E supported thereby and movabletherewith, of the arms g carrying the impaling pins g and pivoted onsaid rods d, and means for connecting said arms g with the said rodswhen desired.

27. In a fabric clamping and holding apparatus the combination with therods d and the clamp-carrying armsE supported thereby and movabletherewith, of the arms g pivoted on said rods and provided withimpalingpins g', the notched collars d6. attached to said rods, and thespring-pressed locking levers i having lugs or hooks t' to engage saidnotched collars and thus connect said arms g with the said rods, whendesired.

28. The combination with the clamps comprising the swinging arms Ecarrying suitable clamping devices and co-operating clamping devices ona stationary part of the apparatus, of the'levers f by which said arms Eare operated to open or close the clamps, connections between said armsand levers and springpressed releasing latches s movable with the saidarms E and arranged to engage the said levers fand lift the latter toopen the clamps.

29. The combination with the rods d provided With the arms E and thecollars d', of the leversfconnected with the said arms E and providedwith inclinesf, clamps which are closed and opened by the movements ofsaid levers, spring-pressed releasing latches s mounted on said collarsandhaving shoulders s2 to engage the said levers f, said shoulders beingoverridden by the inclines on the said levers f when the latter arebrought down to close the clamps, but being brought beneath the saidlevers, to be in position to lift the latter, as thevsucceeding clampsof the series are successively closed.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD B. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CALvER, J. F. JAQUITH.

